Door-shaft lever



D. HINDAHL.

DOOR SHAFT LEVER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1921.

Patented Oct. 25, 1921.

\\\\\\\\\k l I //l////// lluulllllll UNITED OFFICE.

DAVID H INIDAHL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL DUMP CAR COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

DOOR-SHAFT LEVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 25, 1921.

Application filed April 30, 1921. Serial No. 465,652.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID HINDAHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Door-Shaft Levers, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to a new and improved door shaft operating means for general service cars, and more specifically to a handle for actuating such shafts.

General service cars and the like are commonly provided with a bottom formed in a plurality of sections or doors adapted to swing downwardly. 5 In many forms of these cars the locking means in general use consist of a bar or shaftextending longitudinally of the car and movable laterally of the car to engage the under side of thedoor edge, or to be disengaged from such edge to unlock the door. These shafts are moved laterally by various means, a for example chains winding around the bar, or a toothed rack cooperating with apinion on the bar or shaft. A common means of rotating the shafts to lock or. unlock the car consists in a relativelyshort handle having a portion adapted when in the locked position to extend under the car to the edge thereof, and a second portion at rightangles to the first portion and adapted to fit against the side of the car.

In operatingthese locking shafts it is at times necessary to apply considerable force due to sticking of the parts, and especially in locking the car doors. since these doors are normally given aflslight camming lift by the final movement'of the shaft. Further, these levers are in such a positionin the car as to make the application of force diflicult. They are commonly placed upon the-side of the car and at a point well above the grade uponwhich aperson would stand adjacent the car, and it is ordinarily not practicable for a person to stand ,upon the car to operatethe levers. It is d fficult and awkward to applythe proper leverage reaching upwardly vfrom the; ground with the types of handles or levers in present use.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved handle of the class. described which is particularly adapted for the application of a pinch bar or the like to operate the handle for looking or unlocking the car. a

It is a further object to provide a handle of this character which is adapted to permit the effective insertion of a pinch bar in prolongation ofthe lever either from above or from below when in the locked position, and further particularly adapted for the insertion of the pinch bar from below when in the unlocked position.

It is an additional object to provide a device which is simple and may be readily constructed at small cost and which may be used to replace existing levers without further changes in the car door operating mechanlsm.

Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

Broadly, my invention comprises a door shaft operating handle or lever having a hub, a portion extending radially from the hub, and a second portion extending in angular relation to the first portion. Means are provided whereby a pinch bar may be inserted in effective prolongation of the second portion in either direction, and further whereby such pinch bar may be inserted in eflective prolongation of the first-named portion.

I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in whichfFigure lis a fragmentary section of a general service car showing my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of my operating handle;

Fig. 3 is a front view of Fig. 2;

F 4: is a section on line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5--5 of Fig. 3.

As shown in Fig. 1, the car comprises the sides 7, the end 11, and the floor composed of dump doors 12 which are pivotally connected at their inner ends to the center sill construction 13. The transverse supporting structure 14 i provided with the stop mem bers 15 on which the doors 12 rest when in the opened position. The doors 12 are provided with the sockets 16 adapted to receive a stake for raising them to closed position. The shaft 17 extends longitudinally of the car and as shown is located under the outer edge of a series of doors 12. This shaft 17 is provided with the handle 18, the handle having a hub 19 provided with teeth 20 adapted to coact with the rack 21. The hub is carried in an opening 22 in the car member 14. A link 23 is connected to the car The handle, as shown in detail in Figs. .2.

to 5, comprises a hollow structure crossbraced and provided with a number of apertures. It comprises a portion 25 extending radially from the hub and a second portion 26 extending in angular relation to the portion 25. The upper end face of the portion 26 i inwardly concave, as shownat 27 of Fig. 2. Asshown in Fig. 4, this portion 26 is provided with a bracing web 28 which has an arcuate contour. The inner face of the ortion 26 is open. As indicated at 29 of igs. 2 and 3, the outer surface of the lower portion of the member 26 is apertured. As indicated in Figs. 2 and 5, both the upper and lower Surfaces of the portion 25 are provided with apertures 80, and it is provided with the cross web 31. The hub is provided with a flange 32 adapted to engage a track or guideway upon the-car member 14.

In the use of my handle, the lock shaft being in its inward position as shown in Fig. 1, a pinch bar may be inserted from above through the portion 26, its lower end either passing outwardly through the opening 29 or engaging the web 31 of the member 25. Leverage applied thus to the handle and swinging it outwardly serves to rotate the shaft and, dueto the engagement of the teeth 20 with'the rack 21, tornove the shaft laterally, thus disengaging the car doors. If desired the pinch bar may be inserted from below through the aperture 29 and its upper end bear against the web 28, the lower end of the pinch bar being pressed inwardly to start the movement. Further, if desired the pinch bar may be inserted horizontally from the side or the car through the upper portion of the aperture 29 and by securing a leverage against the'car itself and thrusting downwardly against the upper portion 7 of the web 31, the lever may be rotated.

In rotating the'handle to lock the ear the portion25 of the lever will normally be substantially vertical, hanging below the car when the movement is begun. The pinch bar then may be inserted through the upper portion of the aperture 29, an intermediate portion of the bar thrusting upwardly against the web 28, and its inner end bearing against the upper'face of the portion 25 or against the hub 19. Or if desired in closing the pinch bar may be thrust diagonally throughthe openings 30 in the portion 25.

It will be observed that the handle as shown in the drawings and described herein is capable of having a pinch bar or the like applied thereto 111 a variety of ways for movement of the handle in either direction,

and it is thus possible to apply an additional leverage when required from practically any ,position from which it may be desired to operate the handle.

It will be observed that none of the advantages of the usual handle are sacrificed, as where no additional leverage is required the handle may be manually operated in the usual manner.

I claim:

1. A door locking handle adapted for use upon general service cars, comprising a hub, a lever. ortion extendin'g radially from the hub, a-nc continuation of said handle eX-' tending in angular relation to the firstnamed portion, said lever portions being so formedas to permit the insertion ofa pinch bar or the like in approximate prolongation of either portion.

2. A door locking handle adapted for use upon general service cars, comprising a hub, a leverportion extending radially from the hub, and a continuation of said handle extending in angular relation to the firstnamed portion, said last-namedlever portion being so formed as to permitthe effective insertion of a pinch bar or-the like in substantial "prolongation of its length in either direction.

3. A 'door'lockinghandleadapted for use upon genera-l service cars, comprising'a hub, a lever portion extending radially ,from 'the hub, and a continuation 'of'said handle extending in angular relation to the firstnamed portion, said lever portions being apertured to 7 permit the insertion of a pinch bar for effective rotation of the handle about the hub. l

4. A door locking handle adaptedffor use upon'generalservicecars, comprising a hub, a lever portion "extendingradially 'from the hub, and a continuationof said handle extending in angular relation to the firstna'm'ed portion, said lever portions being apertured to'permitthe insertion of; a pinch bar for eliective rotation of thehandle about the hub in either direction.

'5. A'door locking handle adapted for use ufpon'ge'neral servicefcars, comprising a hub, a lever portion 'eXtending'radially from the hub, and acontinuation of said handleextending in angular relation 'to the firstnamed portion, said lever portions being hollow and provided 'with apertures and or the like may be effectively inserted in'l'BO V prolongation of said portion in either direction or in parallelism with and effective prolongation of the first-named portion.

7 Door operating mechanism for general service cars, comprising a shaft, a bent lever rigidly attached to said shaft, said lever being provided With a plurality of openings in angular relation for the insertion of means prolonging either arm of the lever.

8. Door operating mechanism for general service cars, comprising a shaft, a lever rigidly attached to said shaft, having arms in angular relation to each other, each of said arms being provided With means for its prolongation.

9. Door operating mechanism for general service cars, comprising a shaft, a lever associated With the shaft having arms in angular relation to each other, and means whereby an arm of said lever may be effectively prolon 'ed.

Signed at ahicago, Illinois, this 27th day of April, 1921.

DAVID HINDAI-IL. 

